Jump to content

Uh Huh Her(album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uh Huh Her
Studio albumby
PJ Harvey
Released31 May 2004
Recorded2002–2003
Genre
Length40:41
LabelIsland
ProducerPJ Harvey
PJ Harveychronology
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
(2000) 		Uh Huh Her
(2004) 		The Peel Sessions 1991–2004
(2006)
SinglesfromUh Huh Her
  1. "The Letter"
    Released: 17 May 2004
  2. "You Come Through"
    Released: 19 July 2004
  3. "Shame"
    Released: 20 September 2004

Uh Huh Heris the sixthstudio albumby Englishalternative rockmusicianPJ Harvey.The album was written, recorded and produced over a two-year period by the singer-songwriter herself. She also played every instrument on the album (the first such project since4-Track Demosin 1993) with the exception of the final drum tracks, added by long-time collaboratorRob Ellis.It was released on 31 May 2004 in the United Kingdom, and 8 June 2004 in the United States.

During the accompanying tour that lasted eight months,[5]she performed the album's unreleased title-track.Uh Huh Herdebuted and peaked at number 12 in theUK Albums Chartand has been certified Silver by theBPI.[6]It became Harvey's highest charting album to date in the U.S., peaking at number 29 in theBillboard200,and had sold more than 135,000 copies there as of 2005, according to AskBillboard.[7]Although it charted higher thanStories from the City, Stories from the Seain many territories,Uh Huh Herfailed to achieve its predecessor's chart longevity and crossover interest.

The album received largely positive reviews upon its release, although there was some criticism of its production. It currently holds a 79 out of 100 metascore atMetacriticbased upon 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Uh Huh Heralso earned PJ Harvey nominations to awards such as theGrammy Awards[8]and theBrit Awards.

History

[edit]

The album was written and recorded over a two-year period in Dorset, East Devon and Los Angeles. Much of the recording was done alone by Harvey using her four-track and eight-track home studio, guitar, keyboards and drum machine. For the first time since 1993's4-Track Demosalbum, she produced it herself and played every instrument bar the final drum tracks, which were handled by her longtime collaboratorRob Ellis.Final recording and mixing was done by Head at the Presshouse Studio in rural East Devon in autumn/winter 2003.[9]

Harvey toldMojomagazine, "I don't think 'tender' is a word that could be applied to anything I've written before, but that's how I feel about this album and I'm really pleased about it. Some of the songs are very gentle, very loving; with others I had a lot of fun in the words I used and the way I sang them." She explained toTime Outmagazine how she "wanted to get back to the earthy, rootsy, more dirty side of things" following the popular success of her last album, 2000'sStories from the City, Stories from the Sea.She said, "I wanted this record to be simple, I wanted it to be ugly in some places, I wanted it to have a swagger to it... but also a real honesty and intimacy. I wanted a warmness and closeness and I wanted to make a welcoming record." ToSpinmagazine she said that, in contrast to the extreme darkness of some of her earlier LPs, "I find an enormous amount of openness and hope on this record..." The Desperate Kingdom of Love "or" You Come Through "I find incredibly optimistic and tender." Harvey also explained toTracksmagazine that, "I was looking for distressed, debased sounds. So all of the guitars are either tuned so low that it's hard to detect what notes they're playing or they're baritone guitars or they're played through the shittiest amps I could find."

On the inside sleeve of the album cover are a long set of self-portrait photographs that Harvey took over the years, and a series of scribbled annotations she collected during the songwriting process ofUh Huh Her– notes to herself such as "Scare yourself", "Too normal? Too PJ H?" and "All that matters is my voice and my story" (a piece of advice given to her by her friendElvis Costello). She admitted toShaken Stirthat producing the record on her own was "a completely draining, disorientating, exasperating, invigorating experience" and "one of the hardest pieces of work I've ever done... I couldn't say that this record was an enjoyable experience. I think it was a journey that I learnt an enormous amount from, but certainly there were very enjoyable moments... I mean when I look back on it now it was a very difficult, hard and taxing time, and yet I'm so glad I did it – so glad."

Harvey underwent an eight month world tour[5]in support of the album with drummer Rob Ellis and two new bandmates, bass player Dingo and guitaristJosh Klinghoffer.The tour was captured for the DVDOn Tour: Please Leave Quietly.

A song called "Uh Huh Her" was regularly played during the tour, but not included on the album. It was eventually recorded for the digital compilationiTunes Originals – PJ Harvey.On the origin of album's title PJ Harvey mentioned it inRolling Stonein 2004: "But it came from the chorus of a song, actually — there’s a song called “Uh Huh Her” that I play live but I chose never to record. The chorus is: “Don’t marry uh huh her/Don’t marry her her her.” "[10]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Entertainment WeeklyA[13]
The Guardian[1]
The Independent[14]
Los Angeles Times[15]
NME5/10[16]
Pitchfork7.6/10[17]
Q[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
SpinB+[20]

Uh Huh Herwas released in May 2004 in the UK and peaked at #12 in theUK Albums Chart.The album was preceded by lead single "The Letter", which reached #28 in theUK Singles Chart.Uh Huh Herbecame PJ Harvey's highest-charting record on the USBillboardcharts, reaching #29. Overall, however, it did not spark the same level of crossover interest as its million-selling predecessorStories from the City, Stories from the Sea.As usual with Harvey, the critical reception was generally strong:Alternative Pressdescribed the record as "profoundly moving",Entertainment Weeklycalled it "raw, dark and beautiful... a jagged, edgy winner", andTimenoted that "No singer sinceJanis Joplinhas moved as easily between primal scream and intimate sigh ".The Sunday Timeshailed it as "a thrilling, bone-rattling barrage, interleaved with moments of hushed, accordion-flecked intimacy whose closeness and apparent candour make you want to shield yourself from their passion."Hot Pressmagazine, meanwhile, felt it was "an extremely potent record... that contains more perspectives, characters and camera angles than maybe any PJ album to date". It won Harvey her sixthBRIT Awardnomination, as Best British Female Artist, and her fifthGrammy Awardnomination, for Best Alternative Music Performance of 2004.[8]

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
Spin Top 40 Best Albums of the 2004[21] 2004 31

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written byPJ Harvey

Uh Huh Her– Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth"4:51
2."Shame"2:32
3."Who the Fuck?"2:09
4."Pocket Knife"3:41
5."The Letter"3:19
6."The Slow Drug"3:22
7."No Child of Mine"1:05
8."Cat on the Wall"3:00
9."You Come Through"2:46
10."It's You"4:12
11."The End"1:21
12."The Desperate Kingdom of Love"2:42
13."Seagulls"1:08
14."The Darker Days of Me & Him"4:35
Total length:40:41[12]
"The Slow Drug"
"The Slow Drug" by PJ Harvey
Problems playing this file? Seemedia help.

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted fromUh Huh Her's liner notes.[22]

Technical

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 60,000^
United States — 135,000[7]

^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^abPetridis, Alexis(28 May 2004)."PJ Harvey, Uh Huh Her".The Guardian.Retrieved31 May2016.
  2. ^Empire, Kitty(30 May 2004)."PJ Harvey, Uh Huh Her".The Observer.Retrieved22 December2015.
  3. ^Lovitt, Bryn (18 December 2015)."The Noisey Editors' Best And Worst Of 2015: Bryn Lovitt".Noisey.Retrieved22 December2015.
  4. ^Lundy, Zeth (23 June 2004)."PJ Harvey: Uh Huh Her".PopMatters.Retrieved24 December2015.
  5. ^abPetrusich, Amanda (5 November 2007)."PJ Harvey".Pitchfork.Retrieved17 August2018.
  6. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2009.Retrieved20 May2010.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ab"Ask Billboard".Billboard. 27 December 2005.Retrieved17 August2018.
  8. ^ab"Artist: PJ Harvey".Grammy.Retrieved17 August2018.
  9. ^"Uh Huh Her".PJHarvey.net.Retrieved17 August2018.
  10. ^Orloff, Brian (5 October 2004)."PJ Harvey Talks Tour".Rolling Stone.Retrieved17 August2018.
  11. ^"Reviews for Uh Huh Her by PJ Harvey".Metacritic.Retrieved31 May2016.
  12. ^abPhares, Heather."Uh Huh Her – PJ Harvey".AllMusic.Retrieved31 May2016.
  13. ^Browne, David(11 June 2004)."Uh Huh Her".Entertainment Weekly.Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2017.Retrieved31 May2016.
  14. ^Price, Simon (30 May 2004). "PJ Harvey: Uh Huh Her (Island)".The Independent.
  15. ^Hilburn, Robert(30 May 2004)."PJ Harvey, still rockin' and roiling".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved31 May2016.
  16. ^Smack, Eddie (21 June 2004)."PJ Harvey: Uh Huh Her".NME.Archived fromthe originalon 23 March 2009.Retrieved31 May2016.
  17. ^Dahlen, Chris (31 May 2004)."PJ Harvey: Uh Huh Her".Pitchfork.Retrieved31 May2016.
  18. ^"PJ Harvey: Uh Huh Her".Q(215): 100. June 2004.
  19. ^Hoard, Christian (24 June 2004)."Uh Huh Her (U.S. Version)".Rolling Stone.Retrieved31 May2016.
  20. ^Hermes, Will(June 2004)."Queen of Hearts".Spin.20(6): 101–02.Retrieved31 May2016.
  21. ^"Music: Milk-Eyed Mender (CD) by Joanna Newsom (Artist)".Tower.com. 23 March 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2012.Retrieved4 April2017.
  22. ^Uh Huh Her(Media notes).PJ Harvey.Island Records.2004. 986 639-5.{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  23. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".australian-charts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  24. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".austriancharts.at(in German). Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  25. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".Ultratop(in Dutch). Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  26. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".Ultratop(in French). Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  27. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".danishcharts.dk.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  28. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".dutchcharts.nl(in Dutch). Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  29. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".finnishcharts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  30. ^ab"Discography PJ Harvey".lescharts.com(in French). Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  31. ^"Album – PJ Harvey, Uh Huh Her"(in German).Media Control Charts.Archived fromthe originalon 4 April 2015.Retrieved3 November2012.
  32. ^ab"Discography PJ Harvey".irish-charts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  33. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".italiancharts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  34. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".norwegiancharts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  35. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".portuguesecharts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  36. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".swedishcharts.com.Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  37. ^"PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".Hitparade(in German). Hung Medien.Retrieved3 November2012.
  38. ^ab"PJ Harvey | Artist".The Official Charts Company.British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved3 November2012.
  39. ^ab"Uh Huh Her – PJ Harvey: Awards".Allmusic.Rovi Corporation.Retrieved3 November2012.
  40. ^"British album certifications – PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved3 November2012.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uh_Huh_Her_(album)&oldid=1240230788"